Florida & the Dry Tortugas

Most birders are aware of the Dry Tortugas which is located about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida.  This place is often mentioned as a 'must see' for hard core birders.  Its remoteness is part of the allure and magic of this place.  It is now a US National Park and is home to Ft Jefferson.  The Dry Tortugas consist of 7 islets, or keys.  The 3 largest keys, Garden Key, Loggerhead Key, and Bush key make up more than 90% of the land mass of the Dry Tortugas.  The rest are small and are constantly changing due to weather, tides, and currents.  They were named because sea turtles were originally found there and they have no fresh water source.  Garden Key is the home of Ft Jefferson and is the only key that is accessible to most people by boat or by sea plane.  Bush Key is sometimes attached to Garden Key, but is often off limits as it is an active nesting colony for Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns.  During spring migration, this spot is attractive to many migrants crossing the Gulf of Mexico and many drop in to forage and get some energy back before continuing with their journey northward.  For those reasons, this spot is a must see spot for most birders.  

The boat ride is about 3 hours to arrive at Garden Key and Ft Jefferson.  The seas were fairly void of any seabirds until we approached our destination.  We started seeing Brown Noddies and Sooty Terns as we approached about 5 miles out.  I was fortunate to get a couple of photos of a Brown Noddy flying close to the boat.  What is really cool is the fact that this species was my 600th ABA bird.  A great bird for a nice milestone.  (700 is a long ways off.  Going to take some extra effort to reach that milestone!)

 Brown Noddy

Once we arrived at Garden Key, we got to observe many more Brown Noddies including many on Bush Key which was off limits for us. Here are some photos of some of the Brown Noddies from Garden Key.  Perching and resting space is at a premium and this pair was not about to give up their perch.  

 Brown Noddy - Photo sequence

We were able to see the nesting areas of Bush Key from a distance which included Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns.  Here is a photo of the nesting area which shows both species and it is followed by a photo of a Sooty Tern that was injured along the shore of Garden Key.

 Brown Noddy & Sooty Terns - Nesting on Bush Key

Sooty Tern

We also were able to find some Bridled Terns on the coal pilings near the camping area.  From a distance they might be a bit difficult to distinguish from Sooty Terns, but these were close enough for us to see the different field marks such as the pale mantle and the amount of white on forehead which is different in these two species. 

 Bridled Tern

On the boat trip from Key West to Garden Key, the captain made a point to approach Hospital Key, which was nothing but a long sandbar rising above the water.  While this does not sound exciting, it happens to be the small island that the Masked Booby has claimed as their small territory. This was an example of why a zoom lens is needed for photos.  Photos had to be made from a distance as the boat could not approach very closely due to shallow water and also to prevent any disturbance to the birds.  

 Masked Booby

One of the unique features of the Dry Tortugas is the fact that it is one of the very first specks of land that many migrants see as they are crossing the Gulf of Mexico.  Due to the extreme distance they have traveled and the possibility of encountering storms or unfavorable winds, many of these birds will land on this speck of land in search of food and water.  The only spot of fresh water on the island is inside Ft Jefferson at a cistern where fresh water is stored for the few rangers that live at the park.  This water is hauled in on a regular basis and this cistern, which has an open area at the top with a water drip, is the place to get a drink. With fewer trees and a limited water source, these many passerines are easier to observe.  Below are some of the photos that I captured of some of these birds. 

 Black-whiskered Vireo

Gray Kingbird

 Cape May Warbler

 Hooded Warbler

 Prothonotary Warbler

Swainson's Thrush

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Ruddy Turnstones

Black Skimmers - We enjoyed this flock as we were departing Key West in the morning.

Ft Jefferson on Garden key is not a paradise for the migrants!  It has its share of predators.  We documented American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and several Cattle Egrets.  The unfortunate victims of these predators were often many of the song birds.  However the Peregrine Falcon preferred to feast on the terns and noddies that were in abundance.

 Cattle Egret

 An opportunistic Cattle Egret

Peregrine Falcon

 Ft Jefferson on Garden Key - This was taken on our approach to the island.

This is Loggerhead Key with the lighthouse and is off limits to all personnel, except for National Park Staff.

I highly recommend a trip to the Dry Tortugas if you are heading to Florida for birding.  You can go as a one day trip where you go out and come back the same day.  However, you can also go and camp out in the small camping area, but keep in mind that there is no fresh water or food on the island, so plan your trip well.  Also, get your reservations in on the Yankee Freedom III in advance.  Some of the trips tend to fill quickly.  I know that I will definitely find time for another trip to the Dry Tortugas if I make it back to Florida in the future! 

   

On the 'PROW'L for an Arizona Vagrant

Living in Arizona and being a fervent birder, I have been able to add most of all the Arizona regular bird species to my life list.  So it has become harder and harder to add a new life bird for me in Arizona.  There is still a handful of species that exist in the state, but are not easy to find, or they are located in some very remote areas that I have not yet visited.  Hopefully within the next year, I will be able to knock a couple of these species from my bucket list.  The other method of adding new birds to my life list is chasing down the vagrants that are passing through.  Such was the case on May 1st of this year.  For those that are curious about the headline of this post, 'PROW' is in quotes, as those 4 letters is the 4-letter banding code for this target bird.

One of North America's most beautiful 'eastern' warblers came to town in Tucson; a stunning Prothonotary Warbler (PROW).  I was figuring that I was going to only find and see this bird in the eastern part of the United States in a future trip back east.  Brian Johnson contacted me and asked if I was interested in chasing this beautiful bird.  Birding friend, Chris Rohrer, who lives in Tucson, headed to the location the day after it was reported and his photos really had my mind reeling.  There was no hesitation with my answer, and I said yes.  We headed out of Mesa very early in the morning and once we arrived at the location, we quickly found 5 more birders in the area also searching for it.  After about a 20 minute wait, the bird popped out and came out long enough to allow great looks and some photos for all that were there.  Life bird number 642 was a spectacular specimen!

PROW is the 4 letter banding code for Prothonotary Warbler.

 Prothonotary Warbler

While waiting for this bird to show itself, a few Western Tanagers were also making themselves quite obvious.  This is a bird that I will always try to photograph if possible as they are quite colorful.  They can sometimes be difficult to photograph as they can be a bit shy.

Western Tanager

Since we were fortunate enough to find this bird fairly early, we decided to make the most of our day and head to the southwestern part of Maricopa County to chase a county bird.  This was an area that I had never visited as it is quite a distance from the Phoenix metro area.  In trying to add birds to my Maricopa County list for the year, my target bird for this area was the Willet.  Not necessarily a rare bird for the county, but definitely not all that common in migration and there had been a couple reports of them in some of the ponds in the area around Gila Bend.  After checking out some of the ponds and coming up empty, our last stop was at the Gila Bend Sewage Ponds and we hit paydirt with a single Willet.

Willet

Since we were in the Gila Bend area, it made a lot of sense to make the route back to the Phoenix area via Highway 85 and make a stop at Glendale Recharge Ponds.  This stop also paid off with the result being a lone Forster's Tern hanging out in Pond 3, which was another new county bird for me for the year.  

 Forster's Tern

Also located 2 Killdeer chicks with parents.  4 days prior to this visit I found a pair with 4 chicks.  Can't be sure if it is the same pair or not, but since the chicks cannot fly at this age, there is a good chance it is the same pair.  What became of the other 2 chicks, I do not know, but they also could have been hiding somewhere and got overlooked.

Killdeer with 2 chicks

And here is a photo of one of the chicks only 4 days earlier  Note how much they grew in just four days!

It was nice to see the Semipalmated Plovers again and this time they appeared close to each other and I was able to get both of them in one frame.

Semipalmated Plovers

Another great day with some great birds, including a new lifer for me.